


Every Once in a While

by The_WorstWriter



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Azula - Freeform, F/F, F/M, Fire Lord Zuko, Lesbian Azula (Avatar), Mai - Freeform, Minor Character(s), Slightly - Freeform, Ty Lee - Freeform, Zuko - Freeform, kyoshi - Freeform, maiko, pregnant Mai, slight mention of sokka, suki - Freeform, tyzula - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 21:02:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16103729
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_WorstWriter/pseuds/The_WorstWriter
Summary: Obviously, a reunion would be expected, but not…  in this way. At least, this wasn’t how she’d envisioned it.~.~.~Azula had just spent 6 months in the asylum and was now back at the palace. She wasn't ready to see Ty Lee, but what happens when she nearly walks in on a room where Zuko and Ty Lee were having tea in?





	Every Once in a While

Obviously, a reunion would be expected, but not…  in this way. At least, this wasn’t how she’d envisioned it.

When Azula had just got back to the palace from the asylum, she’d learned that Mai had married Zuko and was now the Fire Lady. She was also pregnant with her first child. Lo and Li were as disapproving as always, and the advisors Ozai used to converse with were gone. Ursa had now moved into the palace and Ty Lee was still at Kyoshi Island.

Of course, the fact that she was now back in the palace was kept secret. Only the staff of the palace, Mai, Zuko, and Iroh were aware of this fact. And probably Ozai because she was sent to go talk to him a few weeks prior.

The servants had also stopped fearing her; rather, whenever they looked at her now, they always had pity in their eyes, as if she’d go insane again.

Well, been there, done that. The six months of asylum hadn’t been worth it. Azula would rate that experience a negative 5 stars. At least she’d stopped having hallucinations. She now knows how to be grateful, polite, and mannerly. She supposed she was grateful for the fact that Zuko and Ursa had given her a second chance; rebuilding relationships hadn’t been easy. She was content to take her time doing that; taking things slowly would benefit her and everyone now.

But apparently, the trust was building too slow. No one had bothered to mention to her that Ty Lee was coming to visit… today.

And it’s not like she didn’t want to see Ty Lee; in fact, she wanted to, but not like this.

She’d nearly barged into the room Zuko and Ty Lee was in had Mai not pulled her aside at the last minute and explained to her that Ty Lee was inside and that she didn’t know that Azula was here. It seems that Mai and Zuko had been planning to tell Ty Lee today by pulling Azula into the room.

_“Oh no, please tell me that you guys did not plan this,” Azula hissed as she half-towed, half-carried a pregnant Mai away from the room and into the room she was staying in. “I am certainly not going in there; Ty Lee will most certainly not see me today.”_

_“But… Azula,” Mai protested. “She only comes here once every few months!”_

_“Once every few months too many,” Azula muttered. “No. Please,” Azula pleaded. “I’ll never be able to live up to it. She doesn’t deserve it.”_

_“Deserve what?” Mai asked. “I think we both agree that she deserves closure.”_

_“She fears me,” Azula forced out. “She’s scared of me. It’s better if she doesn’t see me. I don’t want to hurt her.”_

_Mai narrowed her eyes. There’s something that she was missing her. “There’s something that you’re not telling me.”_

_“I—”_

_Mai suddenly realized why Azula was holding back and what she was trying to say. “You know that you can express your feelings, right?” she said gently. “Your feelings are valid too. Just… try not to be too blunt.”_

_“I—” Mai saw the vulnerability in Azula’s eyes as she said those words, but she nodded her head, encouraging her to talk. Azula tended to keep her emotions bottled up nowadays, and she’d rather have her let them out slowly than explode suddenly one day. “I— I felt betrayed. It’s just…”_

_“You liked her more than a friend,” Mai supplied. “You’ve always liked her more than a friend, so when she betrayed you, it hit you really deep.”_

_“Yes!” Some tears threatened to drop down her cheeks, but Azula blinked them back. “I— I thought that she felt the same! Because—because…”_

_She buried her head in a pillow and sobbed quietly. “I loved her.”_

_Mai didn’t want to push, but she was really curious. “Do you still?”_

_“Yes.” Azula didn’t know who was more surprised by the confession; her or Mai. She was rarely this open. “Yes, I do.”_

_There were three consecutive knocks on the door. “Message for princess Azula!”_

_The golden-eyed girl dried her eyes, careful not to smudge her makeup, and said in a sure voice, “Come in!”_

_The young girl walked in and bowed to both women. “Princess Azula, My Lady Mai,” she said respectfully before straightening and handing the scroll to Azula. “Message from the Fire Lord.” Bowing again, she left and closed the door. Azula unrolled the scroll._

_‘As the Fire Lord, I command you to come down.  Bring my wife with you. Fire Lord.’_

_Mai looked at Azula helplessly. “Well, we’ve been summoned. Let’s go.” She staggered upright before almost falling back down, exaggeratingly, but Azula still caught her. “And you’re going to have to come with me. I’m a pregnant woman.”_

_Azula sighed but allowed Mai to drag her along._

The door was opened by servants and Mai walked inside, Azula grabbing a random hat off of a servant and wearing it lowly. She supported Mai carefully into the seat next to Zuko. Staring at the floor, Azula helped Mai into a chair using her memory of this room, bowed, and was about to walk out.

“Wait.”

Azula froze at Zuko’s voice, turned, and bowed. “Yes, my Lord?”

Too late, Azula realized, she’d forgotten to mask her voice. Ty Lee was in action immediately, standing protectively over Mai and taking a defensive stance as Azula walked backward slowly, keeping her head down and heading towards the exit.

“Zuko? What—what is this?” Ty Lee’s voice asked. “Did you hire a new servant who sounds exactly like Azula? Or—”

Azula brought her hand up and incinerated the stupid hat, turning quickly as she did so. “I gotta go,” she said hurriedly.

“Azula, wait—”

But the princess was gone, lost in the hallways of the palace.

Ty Lee turned around and glared at the couple. “Explain.”

~.~.~

The next day, Azula woke up at dawn and began to practice as she usually did. But today, the blue plumes seemed weaker. More… unfocused. And her mind was stuck on the Kyoshi warrior who she’d heard yesterday but hadn’t seen.

Extinguishing the flame, she stood in the courtyard and rubbed her face with both hands. Ty Lee’s voice had brought back memories, both good and bad. Repairing her relationship with Mai had been and will be, much easier than repairing her relationship with someone who’d she fallen in love with but repeatedly denied because of fear of herself.

“Would you—”

Azula whirled around and just managed to stop lightning from hitting Zuko, hitting the potted plant next to him instead. “Do you have a death wish?” Clearing her throat, she revised her words. “I’m sorry, it’s just that— well, you scared me.”

Zuko merely glanced at the burnt plant next to him.

“Would you give her a chance?”

Azula decided to play dumb. “Who?”

“Ty Lee, of course.”

Azula decided to start practicing again. “Actually, I think that it should be her giving me a chance, not the other way around.”

Zuko was impressed by how Azula had changed but chose not to show it. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s train together.”

Unbeknownst to both of them, Ty Lee was sitting on a tree lining the edges of the courtyard. She briefly wondered to herself whether she should give Azula a chance. ‘After all, it seems like she’s changed,’ she mused to herself as she hopped down the tree and went to find Suki and Sokka.

~.~.~

“Suki?”

“Oh hey, Ty Lee!” Suki replied brightly, standing up on the sofa. “Where were you?”

“I went for a walk,” Ty Lee deflected. “Hey, when are we going back to the Earth Kingdom?”

“Tomorrow,” said Suki, stretching. “Why ask?”

“Would you mind if I stayed a few more days?” Ty Lee asked. “I haven’t visited my family in a while, and…” Changing her mind, she repeated herself. “I haven’t visited my family in a while.”

Suki put down the cup of tea she was currently sipping, sensing that there was something that the other girl was keeping back. “Hey, you know that you can tell me anything, right? I appreciate the harsh truth over the lie.”

Ty Lee cleared her throat. “It’s true though… Well, I also sort of want to see if Azula’s changed or not.”

Suki grimaced. “Uh, okay. Do you have a place to stay?”

Suddenly, a knock sounded on the door. “A message to Lady Ty Lee on behalf of Fire Lord Zuko!”

Ty Lee goes to open the door and retrieves the scroll from the messenger and comes back. She unrolls it.

‘Ty Lee, would you do me a favor and take care of Azula? Please show up today at the palace if you agree. If not, then… don’t come?

Signed, Fire Lord Zuko’

Suki laughed. “He certainly needs to work on his straightforwardness. Well,” she nudged Ty Lee. “Go for it.”

Ty Lee’s face brightened considerably. “Really?”

“Yep,” Suki replied brightly. “When are you planning to… move?”

Ty Lee had bounded into her room. “Now?” she hollered back.

Within five minutes, the girl was done with the packing. Pecking Suki on the cheek and asking her to tell Sokka goodbye for her, she hurried outside. Suki chuckled at her enthusiasm, watching her go. “Have fun! You can come back to the Kyoshi warriors whenever!”

Ty Lee was already gone.

~.~.~

“And here’s her room,” Zuko finished his mini-tour. “Your room would be next to hers.”

“Okay!” Ty Lee responded brightly. “I’ll go settle in later, but let’s talk about what I have to do.”

~.~.~

Azula was pretty sure, that ever since coming out of the asylum, nothing has ever shocked her as much as this.

Obviously, the changes made to the palace, in terms of architecture and the people living there, were hard to adjust to.

But.. this? Ty Lee had just kicked her doors open and was standing there innocently while Azula flattened herself against the bed, hoping that she wouldn’t come looking for her.

“Azula! Stop hiding and come out!” Ty Lee called. Azula heard footsteps coming towards the bed and cringed. Since when had this innocent, optimistic girl turned into this door-kicking monster?

She listened to the footsteps. They seemed to stop, and Azula thought that maybe… maybe she’d gone ou—

“I got you!” The silk blanket of which Azula had been hiding under was whisked away, and Azula grabbed a pillow, using it as a buffer between her and the now-retired Kyoshi warrior.

“What, Ty Lee?” Azula groused. “Is there something fun with waking me up just as I was going to sleep?” Not that she was getting much of those these days.

“We’re going to go on a date tomorrow,” Ty Lee announced. “And after that, whatever goes, goes. And you can’t say no,” she continued when Azula opened her mouth, “because this was ordered by your brother and me.”

Azula closed her mouth but opened it again. “Since the decision was half made by someone who isn’t the Fire Lord, it means that I can say no, right?” she asked weakly.

Ty Lee didn’t seem impressed. “Actually, Mai had something to do with this as well. So you will have to fight the Fire Lord, the Fire Lady, and me.” Flipping the braid behind her back and cocking her hip, she added, “Don’t forget that I’m technically a child of a noble family.”

Azula sighed. She knew that there was no way that she could get out of this. “Well then, Ms. child-of-a-noble-family, would you kindly allow me my allotted time of rest before I wake up at dawn tomorrow to train?”

A Ty-Lee smile spread across Ty Lee’s face. Settling the blanket over Azula and tucking her in, she kissed her gently on the cheek. “I knew that you’d see reason.”

The spot on Azula’s cheek burned as Ty Lee walked out, closing the doors after her. Looks like she'll be going on a date tomorrow. 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Okay. First of all, I am 99% sure that there will be a follow-up to this. I've actually already penned it out; it's just that I still have to polish it. Hopefully it'll be done soon. I hope you guys enjoy this, and if you have any prompts or suggestions or ideas, please don't hesitate to hit the comment button :) Thanks for reading


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